smith



A. W. SMITH.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.21, 1919.

Patented une 8, 1920.

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A. W. SMITH.

TYPEWRIUNG MACHINE APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, I919- Pahnn6dJun68,1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR W. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIG-NOR T0 REMINGTON TYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF ILION, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TYPEWRITING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1920.

Application filed September 2'7, 1919. Serial No. 326,705.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. SMITH, citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New York and State 'of'New'York, have invented certain new and V 1918, SerialNo. 235,812, and the other filed July 6, 1918, Serial No. 24:3,587. Considered with reference to said Barr applications it may be said that the principal object of my invention is to providea simpler compacting mechanism than shown and described by Barr.

To the above and other ends, my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations and arrangements-of parts all of which will be fully set forth herein and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is afront to rear vertical section of so much of the machine as is necessary to illustrate my invention, the parts being shown in compacted position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the parts shown in expanded position ready for operation.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing my improvements.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation including the compacting and expanding handle or crank.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view on an enlarged scale, the section being taken on the line w m of Fig. 4:-

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but not enlar ed, and showing another form of handle and lock.

Except as hereinafter described, the machine shown in the drawings is or may be substantially like those set forth in the two Barr applications above referred to, and I have therefore not deemed it necessary to illustrate the machine in such complete detail as might otherwise have been desirable;

and indeed as far as the present invention is concerned, most of the details of construction of the machine can be of any suitable sort.

It will be understood that it is preferable to make the machine as light as is consistent with the production of a good machine and to that end the main frame is composed largely of sheet metal comprising right and left-hand side plates 1 of suitable form, as will be understood in a general way from Figs. 1 and 2, said side plates being con nected at the front by a bar 2 also composed "of sheet metal but heavy enough for stiffness, said bar being vertically slotted along both its upperand lower edges to accommodate some parts of the key action,

as will be more fully explained hereinafter.v

Near their rear portions the side plates 1 are connected by a casting generally desig nated by the reference numeral 3 and best shown in Fig. 3. The middle part of this casting has the form of two separate segments, namely, a type bar segment 4 and a sub-lever segment 5, these being concentric and slotted at their upper parts with radial slots. From the ends of the segments 41 and 5 the casting 3 extends toward the right and left, terminating in bracket-like parts 6, which are secured at 7 by screws to the side plates 1, thus supporting said casting and also rigidly connecting the side plates together. A sheet metal casing 8 is secured to a flanged pan-like base part 10 and incloses the framework 1, 2, 8, etc., of the mechanism on the sides and front, said casing being secured to the side plates 1 and to the base 10 by screws at 11. The carriage 12, its rails 13 and the platen 141 are indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, said rails being mounted on a frame which is not shown but which is capable of a case shift movement in front and back direction and which may be of the general sort set forth in the Barr applications above referred to, or, as far as my invention is concerned, these parts may have any suitable construction.

The type action includes type bars 15 turning in radial slots 16 in the segment 4;, one only of said slots being shown in Fig.

3. Said type bars are pivoted on a curved mount for the type bars. For some of the purposes of my invention these type bars can be actuated by any suitable means, the preferred means shown in the drawings comprising a series of gear teeth formed on the heel of each type bar and meshing with a segmental rack 21 constitututing part of a sub-lever 22. The sub-lever segment has a series of slots 23 cut therein for the accommodation of the sub-levers 22, each slot 23 being in the same radial plane as the corresponding one of the slots 16 in the type bar segment i. Said sub-levers are pivoted on a wire pivot 2t lying in a suitable slot in the segment and threaded at its two ends-and having a nut 25 screwed on at each end to hold the wire snugly in place. It will be understood that the sub-lovers 22 are all alike and that they are arranged in an areshaped formation. They are all levers of the first order and their outer ends are connected by vertical links, 26 with a series of sub-levers 27 all lying horizontal and pivoted on the rross bar 2, the forward ends of said levers lying in the slots cut in the upper edge of said bar. A casing plate 28 extending across the front of the machine has a flange 30 forming a guard that lies over the ends of the sub-levers 27 to retain them in place in their slots. Each of said sub-levers 27 is connected by a vertical link 31 with a printing key lever 32' having a key 33 at its forward end. Said key levers 32 at their rear ends are guided in slots in a comb plate 34 secured by screws 35 to the underside of the casting 8, said comb plate supporting a wire 36. It will be understood that the sub-levers 27 are of varying lengths, that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 being one of the shortest at the middle of the type action, and that these sub-levers increase in length progressively towardthe sides of the system. The links 31 are variously connected to the sub-levers 27'and to the key levers 32, each link being so situated as to give the proper dip to the corresponding key 33. Those sub-levers 27 toward the sides of the system are levers of the third order. Each key action has a restoring spring 37; those shown being tension springs connected at their forward or outer ends to the sub-levers 22 and at their inner ends to a plate 38 mounted on the top of the segment 5.

The gearing between the sub-lever 22 and the type bar 15 can be variously designed, that here shown being eccentric so as to give an accelerated motion to the type bar.

The type bars are shown in Fig. 1 in their compacted position or positionof disuse, and in Fig. 2 in their expanded position ready for use; and it will be noted that in Fig. 1 said type bars lie almost horizontally away from their-pivots, whereas in Fig. 2 they stand up at a considerable angle.

When the machine is in the condition indicated in Fig. 1 it can be put into a small carrying case and occupies comparatively little room. It will be perceived that in moving the type bars from their Fig. 2 to their Fig. 1 positions the keys are elevated above their normal Fig. 2 position, and this elevation will be appreciated by comparing the position of the key lever 32 in Fig. 2 with the position shown in Fig. 1, using the comb-plate 2 for comparison. This elevation of the keys is functionless, being merely incidental to the depression of the type bars. It does no harm in the compacting of the machine because even in their elevated positions the keys are still below the general level of the top of the machine. In order to diminish the amount of this elevation of the key levers, however, the gearing 20, 21, as here shown, includes an elongated tooth or finger 40 on the sub-lever 22 and a corresponding cut-out 41 1 in the type bar. In the latter part of the depression of the type bar this tooth 40 and rut-out 4L1 constitute a gear connection between the type bar and sub-lever, and it will be perceived that the connection is thus caused to move farther from the pivot 21 and much closer to the pivot 17, thus diminishing the extent of movement of the sub-lever due to the depression of the type bar. This peculiarity of the gearing is not of my invention and it is not essential to the usefulness of my invention, although it is an advantage.

The present invention resides chiefly in the means for moving the type bars from the Fig. 1 to the Fig. 2 position, and vice versa. This is done by a type bar lifter that engages all of said type bars and is movable to two positions. In the present instance, and preferably, said device consists of or includes a type rest or pad 12, here shown as a piece of felt mounted in a seg ment, the principal member of which seg ment is a comparatively stiff piece of sheet metal 43 which will be more. fully described presently. On top of said member 43 is a egmental plate 44 somewhat in the nature of a top plate and dust shield and mounted beneath the plate or bar 4-3 is a segmental bar of sheet metal 45 bent first into a downwardly and rearwardly inclined conical part 16 and thence into an upwardly and rearwardly inclined conical part 47, the pad 42 being clamped between this part 17 and the bar 13 or, more accurately, as here shown, between said part 4:7 and a lip bent down from the dust shield 14-. The whole construction makes a segmental trough in which the pad 12 is mounted and above which it projects, forming a conical surface as will be understood from the drawings. By an inspection of Fig. 1 it will be seen that the trough 41:6, 17, constituting part of the type lifter, rests on or lies close to the sub-levers 22 when the machine is collapsed, thus blocking the type actions against operation.

The type bars are moved up and down by moving the pad 42 up and down and to this end the main bar 43 is prolonged toward the right and left-hand, as shown in Fig. 3. Said bar 43 near each of its ends has an integral ear or standard 48 bent downward into a vertical plane and said standards enter guides 50 for guiding them and the whole pad-supporting frame vertically up and down. The guiding means for the standards can be variously constructed. As here shown, each of the guides 50 consists of a piece of sheet metal which at its outer edge is bent toward the front of the ma chine and thence inwardly, forming a flange .51 between which and the main body of the plate 50 the standard 48 is guided. It will be perceived that any rocking of the part 48 in a front and back direction is prevented because said part 48 is mounted in a slot consisting of the space between the main body 50 and the flange 51, and that any motion in a right and left-hand direction is prevented by the bottoms of said slots. As here shown, each of the plates 50 has its lower part bent ofl' horizontally toward the rear of the machine, forming a base 52, which lies against the underside of the cast ing 3 to which it is secured by screws at 53. If desired, the screw holes in the base 52 of each of the guides can be made larger than the screws so as to provide for adjustment of the guides. It will be perceived that by the described means the pad 42 and its entire support is guided for rectilinear bodily motion up and down.

The means for raising and lowering this pad support comprises ears 54 bent downward from the ends of the main bar 43 and having pivoted thereto at 55 the upper ends of links 56 which at their lower ends are pivoted at 57 to arms 58 projecting from and rigidly secured. to a transverse rock shaft 60. This rock shaft at one end, namely, in the present instance its left-hand end, is journaled in a hole in the left-hand side plate 1. At its right-hand end, as best shown in Fig. 5, said shaft has mounted thereon the hub 61 of a crank arm 62 which at its free end has a handle 63 by which said crank arm can be manipulated to rock the shaft 60. In order to get the arm 62 close against the frame plate 1, the hub 61 is journaled in a suitable hole in said side plate. These parts can be variously constructed but as it is the intention that the present machine shall be quite compact the arm 62 is shown in Figs: 1 to 5, inclusive, mounted in the space between the frame plate 1 and the outer casing 8, as will be understood from Figs. 4 and 5, and an areshaped slot 64 is cut in the casing 8 to allow of the necessary swinging of the handle 63. By comparing Figs. 1 and 2 it will be perceived that the links 56, 58 are arranged after the fashion of a toggle which is substantially straight or a little past the dead center in the operative position of the parts in Fig. 2 and which is broken in the compacted position of Fig. 1.

In order to lock the parts in each of their two positions the handle 63 controls a plunger 65 which enters holes 66 in the side plate 1, one hole at each extremity of the motion of said handle. This locking can be accomplished in various ways of course but as here shown the handle 63 consists of a knurled head riveted on the reduced end 67 of the plunger 65, which plunger slides in a counterbored stud 68 screwed into the crank arm 62; and a spring 70 compressed between the shoulders of the counterbored stud and the plunger serves to retain said plunger in its locking position. It will be perceived that the machine can be expanded or compacted by pulling outward on the knurled head 68 and swinging it over until its plunger 65 catches in one of the two holes 66 and that said plunger positively locks the parts in either of their two positions.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified and, perhaps, preferable form of handle and lock for the shaft 60. According to this modification the shaft 60 and hub 61 are prolonged to the outside of the casing 8, said hub taking a bearing in frame plate 1 and extending through a crotch in casing 8. Outside of said casing, said hub carries an arm 77 having fastened on its free end a knob or handle 7 8 and having a pin 7 9 projecting inward therefrom. Said pin is adapted to enter either one of two holes in the casing plate 8 to lock the arm 77 in either of its two positions. Said arm is made thin and flexible enough so that by pulling on knob 78 it can be sprung outward to draw pin 79 out of the hole.

I do not consider it absolutely essential that the shaft 60 be locked, because the parts will usually stay in their compacted position anyway, and when in expanded position the toggle 56 58 is past the dead center.

As here shown the machine is provided with a top plate 71 secured by screws 72 to ears bent inward from the upper parts of the side plates 1. This top plate preferably includes a relatively high marginal part at the front and at the right and lefthand sides and a depressed part T3 in which the type bars lie when in compacted position. The sheet metal cover 44 of the type bar lifter laps a considerable distance over the depressed part 73 of the top plate so that the two plates together effectually cover up most of the mechanism of the machine.

In the drawings a universal bar is indicated at 74- to be operated by the key levers 3.2.

The drawings also indicate a line locking plate 75 adapted to be swung in under hooks 76 formed on key levers 32 but this constitutes no part of the present invention.

In the two Barr applications above re ferred to there are shown type actions resembling in a general way that shown herein andprovision is made for compacting the machine by depressing the type bars to about the position shown in Fig. 1 of the present case, but the mechanism for effecting this compacting is considerably more elaborate than that here shown and pro vides for simultaneously depressing the main frame of the machine itself and in one instance for considerably shortening the machine to its front to back dimensions. According to my invention the main framework is stationary and there is no front and back shortening, and the means for shifting the pad 4-2 and the type bars up and down is considerably simpler than in the Barr constructions.

Various changes can be made in the details of construction and arrangement without departing from my invention.

hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a set of type bars each pivoted in the fixed framework of the machine, a type bar lifter, means for raising and lowering said lifter to expand and compact said set of type bars, and a fixed guide for said lifter.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a set of type bars each pivoted to the fixed framework of the machine, a type bar lifter, guides on said fixed framework for guiding said lifter in a rectilinear vertical path, and a handle and connections for sliding said lifter up and down.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a set of type bars each pivoted to the fixed framework of the machine, a type bar lifter, guides on said fixed framework for guiding said lifter in a rectilinear vertical path, a handle and connections for sliding said lifter up and down, and locking means for securing said handle in its two positions.

4;. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a set of type bars, a fixed segment to which each of said type bars is pivoted, a type bar lifter, means on the fixed framework for guiding said lifter in a direction transverse to the plane of said segment, a rock shaft, two arms on said rock shaft, each connected with one end of said lifter, and a pandle for rocking said shaft to operate said ifter.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a set of type bars, a fixed framework to which said type bars are pivoted in segmental arrangement, a segmental type bar lifter having standards extending transversely of the plane of said segmental lifter, means on said framework for guiding said standards, and a handle and connections for moving said standards and lifter to an elevated position and to a compacted position.

6. The combination of a set of type bars, a segment to which they are pivoted, guides projecting from said segment transverse to the plane of said segment, and a type bar lifter slidable in said guides to expand and compact said set of type bars.

7. The combination of a set of type bars, a fixed mount for said type bars, a lifter engaging all of said type bars, a rock shaft having connections to said lifter at both ends of the latter for moving said lifter relative to said mount to change the disposition of said type bars, and a handle for operating said rock shaft.

8. The combination of a set of individually operable type bars, a type bar lifter movable to two positions to expand and to collapse said set of type bars, and means for locking said lifter in its collapsing position, said lifter when in said collapsing position serving to lock the type actions against operation.

9. The combination of a set of type bars, a mount to which said type bars are pivoted, key actions including sub-levers by which said type bars are operated, and a type bar lifter movable to two positions in one of which said set of type bars is expanded and in the other of which it is compacted, said lifter when in compacting position standing in the paths of said sub-levers and blocking them against operation.

10. The combination of a set of type bars, a type bar lifter movable to two positions for expanding and compacting said set of type bars, two links connected to the ends of said lifter, a rock shaft having arms connected to said links, and a handle on said rock shaft.

11. The combination of a set of type bars, a type bar lifter movable to two positions for expanding and compacting said set of type bars, two links connected to the ends of said lifter, a rock shaft having arms connected to said links, a handle on said rock shaft, and means for locking said handle in its two positions.

Signed at the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 25th day of Sept, A. D. 1919.

ARTHUR W. SMITH.

Witnesses:

CHAnLns E. SMITH, LILLIAN NELSON. 

